Category: Musings

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

Another week and another Hasslesfree miniature, this one goes by the name “Justice Sedante”.  Definately not a lady to be messed with that’s for sure.  I’m told she has a soft centre but unfortunately you have to negotiate her exterior to get there!

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

Dorothy’s Cobbles & Clydes Acrylic Base

In the comments of two recent posts I was asked by Deturnation how I did the cobbles on Dorothy and how I did the acrylic base on Clyde by Pat.  Both were very simple so I thought I would share the very brief details here.  Oh, and by the way, do check out their excellent blogs if you haven’t already.

I typically do cobbles one of two ways.  One method is to simply use a cobble textured roller from Green Stuff World over Milliput or a clay such as Das.  There are plenty of textured rollers available and well worth checking out.  The other method is to use plaster board.  Not sure what it is called else where in the world but basically it is the stuff used by builders for internal walls.  It is easily carved and this is what I used for the basing of Dorothy.

The acrylic base for Clyde was equally simple.  Once again Green Stuff World came up trumps.  They have square and round moulds for using with UVResin and a UVTorch.  I simply bought some 25mm square bases, added some watch parts for a steampunk looking base, poured in some of the UVResin into the mould and then hardened it off using the UVTorch.  It takes about a minute for the resin to harden and then it can be removed.

Of course the moulds and the resin can be used in a variety of ways.  so for that matter can the cobble roller.  I have used it to make walls as well as floors and the plaster board can be used to pretty much make all sorts of scenery.  All down to imagaination and crafting skills.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“Hey Jude” by the Beatles.  You may not have heard of this group but I reckon they are going to be big.

The track was sung live on the David Frost show back in 1968.  I don’t know what the TV audience was but the YouTube video has had over 250 million hits.  Not bad for a song which is over 50 years old.  I remember watching it on a black and white TV at the time (we got colour in 1970) with my brother and my mum and dad.  Some things you never forget and this was one of those moments.  Probably one of the greatest songs ever.  Of course you are entitled to your opinion but if you disagree then you you are wrong!

—000—

This week TIM has been watching …

“Wild Target” starring Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt.  A quirky little film with a good cast.  Not a classic by any means but a few good laughs and worth a watch in my opnion.

—000—

Remember…

If you can’t think of a word say “I forget the English word for it” that way people will think you are bilingual instead of an idiot.

—000—

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

This weeks miniature is a little chap purchased from Crooked Dice.  Another case of a nicely composed figure which took my fancy.  Cannot recall what the site calls this figure and right now I am to lazy to look it up, so I will call him Brian.  Why?  No idea.

For me Brian had that Wastelands feel about him so I based him on a 25mm oak plynth and stood him on some cracked earth groundwork.

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

WIP Reports

A bit of audience participation required this week good people. 

As recently mentioned I have purchased some Table Top World items which will feature in a couple of dioramas I am starting to plan.  Now as much as I can churn a few single figures out in a week that ain’t gonna happen with these dioramas, they are going to take a while.  So here’s the thing.  Would you prefer to see work in progress posts as I go along with the completed model at the end or, the completed model followed by posts on how it was built?

Please be kind enough to comment below.  Thank you.

—000—

Investments

As I no longer have a to do pile following some rebranding of the pile title I decided this week to “invest” in some more figures.  Some from each of Hasslefree, Reaper and Crooked Dice.  Everyone guaranteed to significantly increase in value after my death or your money back.  

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel.  A nice little classic.

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“True Romance” starring Chritian Slater and Patricia Arquette.  Can’t beat a bit of true love.

—000—

Remember…

If you think you will regret something in the morning then sleep until noon.

—000—

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

Hasslefree Miniatures do three versions of “Ray” based on Simon Pegg in the film “Shaun of the Dead”.  Having done the other two it kind of made sense to complete the set by painting the third.  In my case the third figure was “Zombie Ray” although in the film Ray never actually became a Zombie.  Some pictures below including a group one of all three.

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

Domain … Help!

When I upgraded my WordPress package a month or two ago it came with the offer of a free  Domain for the first year.   Unfortunately it would seem that theimperfectmodeller.com has already gone (there are two of us?) but theimperfectmodeller.co.uk is available.  I am more than happy with the co.uk extention, in fact as a Brit I think I prefer it but I have two concerns.

Firstly, given the glorified cockup WordPress have made upgrading (!) the editor how easy is it to change the domain address or am I better leaving things as they are?

Secondly, in past posts I have added links which contain my current wordpress.com domain name.  Do these links now need to be changed or do the links remain intact and link automatically to the new domain address?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.  Cheers.

—000—

Scale Model World Telford

Disappointingly but not surprisingly I received an email last week informing me that the show had been cancelled as a consequence of Covid-19.  This event is the high point on my modelling calendar and one of the major occasions in the year that I really look forward to.  The email felt like the final nail in the 2020 coffin notwithstanding that there are 4 months still to go.  My feelings and my mood can best be summed up in one word.  Fuck.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“Cal Me” by Blondie.  Popped up on a YouTube playlist.  Nice bit of nostalgia.

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“Defiance” starring Daniel Craig.  A film which came out in 2008 but passed me by until seeing it on Netflix the other day.  A watchable WW2 film made more interesting given that it is based on a true story. 

—000—

Remember…

If a women says you’re right that’s called sarcasm.

—000—

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

Back to Hasslefree Miniatures this week and a female figure which goes by the name “Young Maria”.  She was bought along with numerous others, several of which I have painted and recently posted, to be part of a diorama which never materialised.  Individually I loved each and every figure but I had a firm idea of what I wanted to do but some how just couldn’t get my head around how to put it together.  What are the odds that once I finish the last figure I will have a light bulb moment and then need to start all over!

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

The Return of My Diorama Mojo

In Miniatures and Musings No: 63 I mentioned that I had bought a building from Table Top World, to be precise I purchased it through Zealot Miniatures in the UK.  You can buy direct from Table Top World who are based in Croatia but it is a little more expensive.  Now I am not often blown away by the quality of models these days, standards are high and I guess that is what I have come to expect, but the little building I bought is simply exquisite.

I am really looking forward to painting it now that it has arrived and I have several ideas for dioramas.  The search is now underway for the figures and accessories needed to accompany it.  Availability will doubtless determine the route the diorama takes, it typically does.

It will be a while before the project gets properly underway but for now I feel my mojo has definately returned.

—000—

Is It Just Me?

I think I made it clear that I am not a fan of the new WordPress Editor.  Just to be clear I fucking hate it.  More than that my hatred is growing day by day.  It is only a matter of time before someone will say something and I will stab them.  It’s got me in that kind of mood.  If I lived in the US then I would probably be heading towards Silicon Valley armed to the teeth with an AK47 instead of being a keyboard warrior here in the UK.  So what has riled me now?  Four things.

Firstly, I schedule some of my posts.  In the old world the calendar function showed me what had been scheduled already and it was easy to determine the next date for the post I was about to schedule.  The new version I am looking at doesn’t.  I now need to look at scheduled posts, make a note of the dates and then go back in and try again.  Progress!

Secondly, if I dip out of a post I am writing to check something out then when I toggle back the post I had opened no longer automatically saves.  I have to go back out and start again and then I am asked if I want to restore the back up version.  Helpfull?  No.

Thirdly, if I cut some text with the aim of pasting it elsewhere it will allow me to paste it in the new position but the same text in its original postion is still there so I have to go back and delete it.

Fourthly, apologies if I have missed any posts of late but some are not finding there way to my email account or other feeds.  I know I am not the only one experiencing this but cannot see that this is down to me so I am blaming WordPress for this too.

Maybe it is just me.  Perhaps things work differently on my Samsung Tablet.  I might be better off using my laptop instead.  Then again I might just be hitting the wrong keys or something.  Whatever the problem I can’t help but feel there are a lot of glitches to be ironed out.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“I Knew The Bride When she Used To Rock And Roll” by Nick Lowe.  What can I say, I do like a bit of Rock and Roll and I quite like this video too.

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“World War II In Colour” on Netflix.  I suspect a great many of you have already seen this but if you haven’t and World War II is your thing then definately a series to watch.

—000—

Remember…

You cannot control who walks into your life but you can control what window you throw them out of.

—000—

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

A straight forward figure this week, a little Hasslefree chap who goes by the name of “Finn”. Nothing much to say, just another figure from the pile of lead that I have been working my way through.  Originally intended for a diorama which I lost interest in but a nice little figure in its own right.  Images make his jeans look a little to glossy but having taken another look they are quite matt in the flesh so not sure what has happend there.

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

Perfection or Imperfection?

When I buy a new pair of Levi jeans they are perfect.  They have never been worn and they are stiff and unfaded.  Perfect but I don’t like them.  Only when they have been worn in, become less stiff and more than a little faded do they become perfect as far as I am concerned.

And so it is with figures that I paint.

I could, if I choose to, paint all my figures in nice sharp colours and end up with the modelling equivalent of a new pair of Levi’s but would it look right?  In some cases the answer is yes.  For example a soldier on the parade ground would probably look imaculate but in a combat situation would that still be the case?  For me the answer is no but I accept that some people like the figures unweathered, I just don’t happen to be one of those people.

Personally I like weathering as it adds realism to the figure subject of course to composition and basing.  Perfection in imperfection is how I see it, like a nice worn in pair of jeans.

—000—

The End of the Lead Pile!

My lead pile is no more.

No I haven’t finished all the models that I have and if I am being honest I never will.  Nor before anyone asks I haven’t given them all away either.  Instead I have simply renamed these never to be painted (by me) figures the “Investment Pile”.

The way I see it, left unpainted and kept safe and hidden for a number of years, they will one day be worth a small fortune.  One day future figure painters tired of 3D printed plastic will spend their cash to acquire old metal figures.  Think vinyl records.

Am I being delusional?  Almost certainly but for now at least I no longer have a lead pile.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“Morning Glory” by Oasis.  Been a while since I listened to this album and had forgotten how good it was.

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“The Fall” series 1, 2 and 3 starring Gillian Anderson.  Missed this series first time around but caught up on it on Netflix.  An excellent programme and well worth a watch.

—000—

Remember…

If a book hits you on the head you may have only your shelf to blame.

—000—

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

This weeks figure is from Hasslefree and goes by the name of “Joanne”.  Clearly she is a woman with an attitude but if I found myself in trouble I would prefer her on my side.  I went with a Union Jack freehand flag on her T-Shirt and an Anarchy symbol on the back of her waistcoat just to add some more interest.

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

Interesting Site?

At some point in the distant past I considered doing a model tank.  I think at the time I was painting some figures based on the film Kelly’s Heroes and fancied the idea of a Sherman tank to accompany the figure of Oddball, the charachter played by Donald Sutherland.  In searching for a suitable manufacturer of model tanks I came across the site Blitzkrieg Miniatures.

Whilst the figures got finished I never did get around to purchasing the tank.  Maybe one day I will but with so much in my to do pile and so many other things on my “essential, must have, purchase now before they all get sold out, shrewd investment for the future list” I can’t see that being any time soon.

—000—

Happy Birthday

Just over a week ago it was my birthday, my third time of being 21 and my first in a Covid-19 woŕld.  Under normal circumstances I would have been taken out for a meal and a few drinks.  Presents typically would comprise of some items of clothing, a DVD or two and something pointless that I just don’t need in this world or the next.

This year though things were different.  Wisely putting health and safety first I was the recipient of nothing but a few cards and some money and offered the line “We didn’t think it was safe to go out to eat and we didn’t know what to buy you as you have everything already don’t you?”.

Actually as it happens I don’t have everything I want but as luck would have it I’ve got this bloody great “essential, must have, purchase now before they all get sold out, shrewd investment for the future list” to spend the money on.

Happy days.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

MC Hammer and “U Can’t Touch This”.  I’m not abig fan of rap music but this is one of a very few commercial tracks that I quite like.

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“The Cry” starring Genna Coleman.  As Genna is is the girl of my dreams I couldn’t resist watching this when I discovered it on BBC iPlayer.  Set in the UK and Australia it turned out to be an excellent 4 part series.

—000—

Remember…

Don’t buy pre-shredded cheese, lets make Britain grate again.

—000—

TIM

When I woke up this morning I did what I always do.  I went to the toilet, got back into bed, reached for my Samsung Tablet which was on charge on the bedside cabinet and began to see what was happening in the world.  I checked the latest news and football headlines and then I took a look at my emails.  One from WordPress caught my eye.  My worst fears were confirmed.  Just like that I had been thrown into the world of the new editor function!

Suddenly my head ached and I found myself sweating.  I told myself to stay calm.  Surely it cannot be that bad?  Think logically.  Read the email, it will explain everything.  Remember, others had said you can still use the classic editor.  Cool, no problem, I can do this.  The email says there are two ways to choose the Classic Editor.  The second option doesn’t involve “Blocks” and looks easier.  Just hit the link and go to WordPress Admin.  Nothing, fuck all.  The link worked but when you get there nothing to explain how to use the Classic Editor.  Bastards.  OK it might be me there, I’m a guy, I don’t read everything and I certainly don’t look at instructions.  Even if there is something there they are still bastards.

A light bulb moment!

Not the first to experience the new editor I remembered that others had provided a solution to this problem and I recall saving the tip for such a moment as this.  Now where did I save it?  Yes, yes, I book marked it!  Now what does it show?  Right, press the funny green symbol, then choose “options” and then select “Classic Editor”.  Simples!  Fuck, fuck fuckety fuck.  No Classic Editor option under Options.  Now what?

Keep calm, the email said there were two options, just take a look at the other one.  OK, it says you can choose the “Classic Block”.  I touched a few icons, a plus sign I think and then hit a few buttons, can’t recall which then scrolled down and some how found something that said “Classic”.  Is this it?  Let’s give it a try.  Wow, something I recognise at last but now I only have half a fucking screen!  How to get a full screen back?  Touch a few buttons.  No, no, no, yes, it’s gone.  What did I touch last?  Bugger, do it all again and make a note.  No, no, no, yes, hit the plus button again.  Progress.  you wont beat me you fucker. Now I’m on a role!

Let’s take a look at the Classic Editor.  Looks the same so it must be the same.  That button works, so does that one and that one.  How do I insert a photo?  OK so that works but the symbol is new but I can live with that.  Now how do I justify the text?  That looks like the button but it doesn’t do anything.  Must be another icon.  Nope, none of the others do it.  But I have to JUSTIFY!!!  Everything I do I Justify, it’s an OCD thing.  If I can’t Justify it’s the end of the Blog!  Check help.  To Justify use Shift, Alt and J.  Simples.  No fucking ALT on the Samsung Tablet keyboard!

Calm down.  Think.  Think.  Yes I remember now, I bought a Bluetooth QWERTie keyboard to use with my tablet.  Now where did I put it?  Ah, there it is.  Now why the fuck is that not working?  Needs to be charged!

Pause for 20 minutes.

Now Bluetooth enabled.  Shift, ALT, J.  Yippie I aye mother fuckers we can now justify!

Time to review where I am.  Can bring up Classic Block √.  Can insert photo √.  Can Justify √.  Can add a tick √.   Can link to Categories, not yet.  OK now I can √.  Publish, not yet.  OK now scheduled √.   Starting to look like I “might” be able make this thing work.

So what do I think of this new experience?

Let me try to be objective for a minute.  My blog, like most of those who I follow, is a relatively simple affair.  A few paragraphs and photo’s and voila.  It is a basic diary, it’s not a a newspaper or magazine and neither is it a fall blown website.  The Classic Editor, essentially a word processing tool with a few bits added to it is all I and most people need.  It seems to me that the new editor is over kill for me and I would hazard a guess and say for most people too.  I’m an old dog and happy to learn a new trick but it feels like I am being asked to learn a whole new show.  The problem with technology is just when you get the hang of something and it becomes time saving some spotty wanker on a skateboard living in California or wherever decides it’s time for a change for no other reason than they are bored.  In future please leave things alone and when you do get bored do some modelling.

So, in conclussion it gets a big thumbs up from me.

It might only be 10:30 am but I need a beer.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

When I was young kid way back in the 1960’s there were several puppet shows on TV,  such was the technology available.   Thunderbirds and Stingray were both popular but my favourite was Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.  When I saw this figure on the Crooked Dice website I decided he was a must have, another nostalgic piece following on from my Quadrophenia post of a few weeks or so ago.

As I have mentioned before Crooked Dice do a lot of nice figures many of which are based on TV shows from the 1960’s so I will almost certainly be adding to this collection in due course.  As for this figure it came with an alternative hand option.  Originally cast with his right hand pointing I chose to make the minor hand chop conversion and went with the gun instead.  There was also a need to adjust the holster which had a gun in it.

For a while I was stuck on the base.  I wanted a metal mesh type look but wasn’t sure how to go about it.  I suspect there are several ways but in the end I went for some fine plastic netting, the sort that some grocery bits you buy from the supermarket come in.  It was harder to stick down than I thought because it wanted to contract but the use of pins to stretch it got me there in the end.

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

Recent Purchase No: 1

The other day I finally decided to buy one of the fantasy buildings made by Table Top World.  By all accounts they are amazing if some of the YouTube reviews are anything to go by and I eventually settled on a small cottage as a tester.  I have been putting the idea off due to a lack of enthusiasm for larger dioramas of late but am hoping this will provide the necessary incentive to get me back in the mood.  Hopefully it will arrive in a few days time but quite where I’ll put it eventually is another matter entirely.

—000—

Recent Purchase No: 2

Having committed to buying a Table Top World building I decided now would be a good time to check out Artis Opus Series D brushes.  It is a range designed for dry brushing and something I have wanted to try out for a while now.  I decided on a medium and a small brush along with a wet pad thing that they use.  Like the building they should be with me in a few days time.  In due course I’ll let you know what I think of them.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley.  Is there a better song for these troubled times?

 

 

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“Rainman” starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.  One of the nice things about the unfortunate circumatances we find ourselves in for me is having more opportunity to watch films I haven’t seen in a long time.  This classic falls into that category.

—000—

Remember…

Sometimes you can tell people are judgemental just by looking at them.

—000—

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

A return to Reaper this week and another of their fantastic wizards, this one goes by the name of Oman Ruul and is from the Dark Heaven Legends range.

I wanted to try something different on this little chap, an idea I got from an image I had seen somewhere, Pinterest I suspect.  From the front he is just a regular paint job but on the back I have tried to create a moon and galaxy look.  I love the idea and am going to have another crack at it at some point.  For a first attempt I was pretty happy with the outcome but it is a different type of freehand and needs working on.

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

Interesting Site?

This site will have limited appeal to most of you I think but I will throw it out there anyway.  Like most sites it rather depends what you are interested in.  I like my little dioramas and occasionally enjoy adding a building or two into the mix.  Detail is high on my list as I strive to make whatever I am doing as authentic as possible.

It was when I started doing a WW2 diorama, Operation Overlord, that I decided my buildings needed to be fitted out internally and to add to the realism I needed wallpaper.  My google search led me to Jennifers Printables. a site I have used a few times now.  All simple stuff but effective.

—000—

Playing it Safe

For the first time in four months I met up with my mate John for a couple of pints at the village pub, The Blacksmiths Arms.  The nice thing about being retired is you can go to the pub at any time and unsurprisingly at three in the afternoon it was empty.  Social distancing was therefore not a problem and it made a nice change to get out.  The only downside was the reintroduction of alcohol to my system after four months being teetotal.  It hit me hard and so I vowed to put in more practice.

Unfortunatley there is talk of a second wave of Covid-19 hitting the UK.  Hardly surprising as it hasn’t gone away.  Will it be worse second time around?  Will we return to full lockdown?  Will the economy survive?  Will people survive?  The list of questions goes on.  All I know is I can only control my own movements and encourage those nearest and dearest to me to do the same.  With that in mind I have no wish to get caught out again either so I recently placed and order for a shed load of figures, paints and other materials to keep me going.  Just to be on the safe side you understand.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“Gimme All Your Lovin'” by ZZ Top.  I love the music intro to this track but it’s not often I get to turn the volume up without a member of the family moaning but with everyone out I had a blast.

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“Unsolved Mysteries” on Netflix.  There has been a little bit of hype around this series so I decided it would make good background fodder while I was painting.  I was wrong.  It was OK I guess but I was expecting more to be honest.  In my mind there is a difference between mysteries and unsolved cases and so I wasn’t blown away.  Yes each case was odd for sure but overall I was left underwhelmed.

—000—

Remember…

If you put an electric fence around your house don’t be surprised if your neighbour is dead against it.

—000—

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

—000—

Another Hasslefree Miniature this week, this one goes by the name of “Vince”.  As with “Earl” which I posted a few weeks ago, this figure was intended to be a part of a diorama which failed to get off the ground.

—000—

Well It Made Me Laugh …

—000—

Interesting Site?

I thought I would share this site with you this week – Small Scale Lights.

This one women site is run by Jennifer and it was from her that I bought the bits and pieces for the three models I put together where I used lighting.  I am no electrician but all we are talking about here is a battery holder, a switch and linking some wires.  Simples.  The harder part is concealing the components but even that is easy if you like scenery.

Lighting is so cool and inexpensive that I don’t know why more people have not embraced it.  She also has a small section for Warhammer 40k/SciFi.  Just looking at her site again has got me thinking of what I might do next.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

“The Monster Mash” by Bobby ‘ Boris’ Pickett and the Crypt Kickers.  By chance I stumbled across this track which I hadn’t heard in absolutely years so I thought I would share it!

—000—

This week TIM has been watching…

“Dances with Wolves” starring Kevin Costner.  It will come as no surprise for you to learn that I do like a good western movie.  I suspect I will feature more in future posts but for now I will kick off with this one.  I do like a long film, the longer the better as far as I am concerned, providing it’s a good one of course.  So I was in my element sitting down to the 4 hour version of Dances With Wolves.  My sympathy has always been with the Indians which is why I love this film.

—000—

Remember…

If you don’t know what apocalypse means it’s not the end of the world.

—000—

TIM